The present invention pertains to hand brackets, and in particular, to a hand bracket specially suited for use on a marine vessel, motor home, travel trailer or other recreational vehicle.
Many recreational vehicles and vessels provide a series of steps and an associated hand bracket along their outer surfaces to accommodate easy access thereto.
However, due to the mobility of the vehicle or the like, the hand bracket can be adjustably constructed to avoid interference with the desired travel. One common approach is to detachably secure the hand bracket to the vehicle so that it may be removed for travel. An example of such a construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,227 issued May 12, 1987 to Hansen, and entitled PORTABLE BALUSTRADE AND PLATFORM ASSEMBLY. However, while such arrangements avoid travel interference, they involve labor-intensive and time-consuming operations to attach and detach, and therefore often become a nuisance to the user. Furthermore, suitable and easily-accessible storage space must be provided for receiving the hand bracket during travel. Also, the various fasteners utilized to assemble and attach the hand bracket must be kept track of to ensure that they will not become lost or erroneously used in the subsequent erection and attachment of the hand bracket. This problem is especially acute if the hand bracket is to be stored for a long duration before reassembling.
In an effort to alleviate these difficulties, past artisans have also developed collapsible hand brackets, such as disclosed in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,116 issued Jan. 19, 1988 to Williams et al., and entitled STORABLE STAIRWAY AND PLATFORM APPARATUS FOR RECREATIONAL VEHICLES; U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,211 issued Dec. 14, 1976 to Graves, and entitled RETRACTABLE PATIO ASSEMBLY FOR USE ON A PICKUP TRUCK MOUNTED CAMPER OR THE LIKE; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,298 issued Oct. 14, 1975 to Humphrey, and entitled FOLDABLE STEPS FOR MOBILE HOME. However, these hand brackets typically involve a plurality of pivotally interconnected segments which cooperate to effect collapse of the hand bracket against the vehicle in a vertical plane or elements which fold against an enlarged horizontal porch section before collapsing against the side of the vehicle. These arrangements greatly increase the complexity of the hand bracket and invariably increase the cost of fabrication and the susceptibility to disrepair.
Accordingly, an apparatus is desired having the aforementioned advantages and solving and/or making improvements on the aforementioned disadvantages.